Monday, 19 January 2015

The eyes of god

Prohodna (Bulgarian: Проходна) is a karst cave in north central
Bulgaria, located in the Iskar Gorge near the village of Karlukovo in
Lukovit Municipality, Lovech Province. On a sunny day, as you approach the entrance, you are greeted with two shining eyes staring at you from the darkness of the cave.

These shining "eyes" are created by the light shining through two equal-sized holes in the ceiling
of its middle chamber. The holes, look uncannily like eyes and the formation is locally known as the Eyes of God as well as the Eyes of Devil. There is no unanimous opinion on whether this is a natural phenomenon or a result of human activity. I think that these were probably natural holes which loosely resembled eyes but were then shaped into proper eyes by people....

On the day of the Spring Equinox - March 21, the light passing
through "the eyes" shines on an alcove filled with water. This suggests
that the cave might have been used by the local population for religious
ceremonies related to the beginning of the spring. Archaeological material found in the Tamnata (Dark) cave which is
located just next to Prohodna cave testifies that humans used this cave
system since the Upper Paleolithic time. This is probably one of the most amazing places I have ever seen in my life. It is easy to see how a place like this can instantly create an image of an anthropomorphic giant sky god in minds of people standing inside of the cave.

When I look at this last picture, I have a strong feeling that I have seen this face somewhere before. On a ceremonial helmet or mask or a statue. Anyone knows what I am talking about? :)

I just remembered what this reminds me of: Zeus, Perun, Indra, Thor, Taranos....

Look at the
lines on the wall. They look like a bushi
hair and beard. All the early sky gods were men with bushy hair and
beard. Why? Is this cave the reason? Is this cave the place where
the idea of a giant hairy sky god arose for the first time? And if so when did this happen? The cave has been visited by people since at least upper paleolithic....

By the way, this could also explain a curious custom we find in many cultures, of celebrating sky gods in caves...

4 comments:

What an absolutely amazing place. The photography is marvellous. Yes, there definitely is a resemblance to a face. When the moon shines on it, the "eyes" are lit up as if they are staring at you. It does have a feeling as though Zeus is looking back at you. In a strange way, this cave reminds me of the pyramids, with the light source at the top of it. A very magical place. This must have been used for pagan religious ceremonies, such as the Spring Equinox as you say.